Eureka Visitor Center is now a designated California Welcome Center

Eureka is continuing its path forward to making the city a tourist destination on the North Coast.

The Visitor Center will now be designated as a California Welcome Center for those traveling into town.

Located in the Old Town area, the Visitor Center highlights the best of what Eureka has to offer.

“This is something that we’ve been working towards for several years. So we’re really excited to snag that designation,” City of Eureka’s economic development coordinator Sarah West said. “We get to be literally on the map and all of the different welcome centers and have a relationship with Visit California.” 

It was a three-year journey to get the designation.

“We had that site interview where folks from Visit California came up from Sacramento and check the site out, and we took them on a tour. They loved it,” West said.

Becoming a California Welcome Center means changes inside as well.

“We added some California merchandise, our branding and signage, tweaked a little bit to be able to be in line with the California standards as well as our own,” West said. “I think the biggest noticeable change people will see is that we have these giant brochure racks that are information for the entire state.”

And it’s only a small part of the plan to make Eureka a household name to travelers.

“Eureka is always thinking about tourism and the tourism dollars are important to help our local economy, small businesses. That cash injection is really helpful,” West said.

Residents already know the love they have for the city, but what about someone unfamiliar with the area?

“Our number one recommendation within the City of Eureka is our crown jewel: the Redwood Skywalk at the Sequoia Park Zoo. If you haven’t been, go check it out. It’s beautiful,” West recommended. “I also really like to tell people about the fountain that’s at Sequoia Park. Seems that most people haven’t found. Not the duck pond, but there’s actually a fountain behind this. That’s really lovely if you have to check that out.”

The Visit California welcome center grand opening is next week in Old Town Eureka next to the gazebo. Residents are encouraged to stop by to help celebrate.